Internet security vendor McAfee has catalogued more than 1.2 million unique samples of malware in the first half of 2009, meaning that this year is well on course to smash last year’s record in malware creation.
In the first half of 2008 McAfee identified around half a million unique pieces of malware whilst the second half of 2008 saw one million new incidents, giving a total of around 1.5 million unique pieces of malware for the whole of 2008.
According to Dave Marcus, Director of Security Research and Communications at McAfee -
“In the first half of 2009, we have seen about three times the unique malware discovered in the same period in 2008.
This tremendous growth is a signal of daunting times for users, as malware infiltrates more and more of the platforms we trust.”
According to the report somewhere between 30% to 40% of all password stealing Trojans focused on virtual worlds and gaming, showing that there are huge profits to be made from the illicit trading of virtual goods.
With around 80% of all banking emails being fraudulent phishing is on the rise too with the average loss per victim totaling some $866.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Malware is my business and business is good. Of course I dont mean I write malware but you get the point. Heres betting 2010 surpasses 2009.
I think that is probably a fairly safe bet Tom.